Consumer Decision Making Styles inConsumer Decision Making Styles inShopping Malls:

An Empirical StudyShopping Malls: An Empirical StudyShopping Malls: An Empirical

StudyShopping Malls: An Empirical Study

VIPUL PATEL

In

New Age Marketing: Emerging Realities

(Editors: Dhar, Upinder; Nath, V.V.; Nair, S.K. & Yadav, P.K.)pp. 627-637.

Excel Books, New Delhi.2008

CCCConsumer Decision Making Styles inonsumer Decision Making Styles inonsumer

Decision Making Styles inonsumer Decision Making Styles inShopping Malls: An

Empirical StudyShopping Malls: An Empirical StudyShopping Malls: An Empirical

StudyShopping Malls: An Empirical Study

VIPUL PATEL*

The retailing sector in India has undergone significant transformation in the past 10 years.

Theorganized retail industry in India is expected to grow 25-30 per cent annually and would

triple insize from Rs. 35,000 crore in 2004-05 to Rs.109,000 crore ($24 billion) by 2010.

Retailing isgradually inching its way towards becoming the next boom industry. The consumer

decision-making process is a complex phenomenon. The purchase of goods or services includes

a number of factors that could affect each decision. Decision making is more complex and even

more importantfor consumers today than in the past.

The objectives of this study were to investigate the decisionmaking styles of Indian shoppers in

shopping malls and to study the variations in these styles acrossdifferent demographic variables.

Mall intercept survey was conducted to study the decision makingstyles of Indian shoppers in

shopping malls.

The sample included 128 active mall shoppers. TheConsumers decision making styles were

identified by a structure questionnaire and captured in sixstyles by conducting factor analysis.

These decision making styles were price consciousness, qualityconsciousness, recreational,

confused by over choice, novelty consciousness, and variety seeking.

This study will help the managers of shopping malls to understand the underlying decision

makingstyles of the shoppers in the malls and help them to craft their marketing strategies.

Profilingconsumers by their decision-making styles provide more meaningful ways to identify

andunderstand various consumer segments and to target each segment with more focused

marketingstrategies.

INTRODUCTION

Over the last few years, retail has become one of the fastest growing sectors in the

Indianeconomy. Though the country has highest retail outlet density in the world, Indian retail

sectoris highly fragmented and organized retail in the country is at very nascent stage.

Organizedretailing accounts for less than 5% of the retailing industry in India. Therefore, there is

no realretail revolution in India since the industry is still in the stage of infancy. The organized

retailindustry in India is expected to grow 25-30 % annually and is projected to attain USD

23billion by 2010 (FCCI, 2005). Retailing is gradually inching its way towards becoming the

nextboom industry.Consumers are the major beneficiaries of the retail boom. The Indian

consumer is changingrapidly. They now have a choice of wide range of products, quality and

prices. Organised

* Faculty in the area of Marketing, V.M.Patel Institute of Management, Ganpat University,

Mehsana GozariaHighway, Kherva, Mehsana. Email: vipulpat@gmail.com

New Age Marketing: Emerging Realities

retailing is changing the whole concept of shopping in terms of consumer buying behavior.

Insuch a scenario, consumer decision making is of great interest for consumer educators

andmarketers interested in serving the consumer (Canabal, 2002). Therefore, there is clearly a

needfor research on this issue in India. In this study, an attempt was made to study the

consumerdecision making styles in shopping malls of India.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Major objectives of this study include

1.To investigate the consumer decision making styles in shopping malls.

2.To study variations in the consumer decision making styles across different

demographicvariables.

This research paper is divided into three major sections. First, we discuss the

theoreticalbackground and previous research that has been conducted in this area. Although there

hasbeen a dearth of such type of studies in the Indian Context, theoretical exploration can be

basedon international studies carried out in other countries. Second, we present the

researchmethodology adopted to investigate consumer decision making style in shopping

malls.Theresearch method includes a survey data collection instrument and the use of a mall-

interceptface-to-face interview method.Finally, we provide a general discussion of the findings,

as wellas limitations of the study and directions for future research.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Retailers and marketers often seek to learn how and why people shop. The consumer decision-

making process is a complex phenomenon. The purchase of goods or services includes anumber

of factors that could affect each decision. Decision making is more complex and evenmore

important for consumers today than in the past. Consumers are besieged by advertising,news

articles, and direct mailings that provide an abundance of information, much of it withmixed

messages. In addition, increases in the number and variety of goods, stores, andshopping malls,

and the availability of multicomponent products and electronic purchasingcapabilities have

broadened the sphere for consumer choice and have complicated decisionmaking (Hafstrom et

al., 1992).Sproles and Kendall (1986) define a consumer decision making (CDM) style as “a

mentalorientation characterizing a consumer's approach to making choices.” Broadly speaking,

thereare three types of approaches in studying consumer decision-making styles:

thepsychographic/lifestyle approach, which identifies hundreds of characteristics related

toconsumer behavior; the consumer typology approach, which classifies consumers into several

types; and the consumer characteristics approach, which focuses on different cognitive

dimensions of consumer decision making (cf. Fan et al., 1998).In the extant consumer behavior

literature, most studies assume that all consumersapproach shopping with certain decision-

making traits that combine to form a consumer'sdecision-making styles. Academicians and

researchers have long been interested in identifyingthese underlying decision styles of shoppers.

For example, consumers are identified as

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Decision Making Styles in Shopping Malls: An Empirical Study

economic shoppers, personalizing shoppers, ethical shoppers, apathetic shoppers, store-

loyal shoppers, recreational shoppers, convenience shoppers, price-oriented shoppers, brand-

loyal shoppers, name-conscious shoppers, problem-solving shoppers, quality shoppers,fashion

shoppers, brand conscious shoppers and impulse shoppers. (Bellenger and

Korgaonkar 1980; Darden and Reynolds 1971; Stone 1954, Williams, Painter, and

Nicholas1978, Moschis 1976;Stephenson and Willett 1969, Gehrt and Carter 1992, Jacoby and

Chestnut1978, Lumpkin 1985). (cf. Hiu, A.Y. et al., 2001).Using the consumer characteristics

approach, Sproles (1985) developed a 50-iteminstrument to profile the decision making styles of

consumers. Using data collected from 111undergraduate women in two classes at the University

of Arizona and employing a factoranalysis technique, Sproles (1985) found six consumer

decision-making style traits He namedand described these traits: (1) Perfectionism, (2) Value

Conscious, (3) Brand Consciousness,(4) Novelty-Fad-Fashion Consciousness, (5) Shopping

Avoider-Time Saver-Satisficer (6)Confused, Support-Seeking Decision-Maker.In a later study,

Sproles and Kendall (1986) developed a comprehensive instrumentcalled Consumer Style

Inventory (CSI) to measure consumer decision making styles. Theinstrument was administered

to 482 students in 29 home economics classes in fivehigh schools in the Tucson, Arizona area.

(cf. Fan, J.X., 1998). This instrument measures eightmental characteristics of consumer's

decision making: perfectionism, brand consciousness,novelty-fashion consciousness,

recreational, price-value consciousness, impulsiveness,confused by over choice, and brand-

loyal/habitual. (cf. Mitchell, Vincent-Wayne, 2001). Thesestyles are discussed in table 1.

Table 1: Characteristics of Eight Consumer Decision-Making Styles

1.

Perfectionist/high quality-conscious consumer:

decision style of consumers whosystematically search for the best quality products possible.

Consumershave high standardsand expectations for consumer goods, and are concerned with the

function and quality of products; 2.

Brand consciousness

: decision style of consumers concerned with getting the most expensive,well-known brands.

Theyfeel that price is an indicator of quality. 3.

Novelty and fashion conscious:

decision style of consumers who like new and innovativeproducts and who gain excitement from

seeking out new things. Theyare conscious of the newfashions and fads 4.

Recreational and shopping conscious:

decision style of consumers who take pleasure inshopping and who shop just for the fun of it.5.

Price conscious:

decision style of consumers who are concerned with getting lower prices.They arelikely to be

comparison shoppers. 6.

Impulsiveness/careless:

decision style of consumers who never plan their shopping and tendto buy spontaneously. They

are not concerned about how much money they spend.7.

Confused by over choice:

decision style of consumers who feel they have too many brandsand stores to choose from and

who likely experience information overload in the market.Consumers find the marketplace

confusing, view brands as alike, and seek help from friends 8.

Habitual/brand loyal:

decision style of consumerswho are apt to have favorite brands andstores. Theyshop at the same

stores and tend to buy the same brands each time.

Source:

Hafstrom, Jeanne J., Jung Sook Chae, and Young Sook Chung (1992), “Consumer Decision-

making Styles:Comparison between United Slates and Korean Young Consumers”,

The Journal of Consumer Affairs,

Vol. 26 (1), pp. 146-158. Wesley, S., LeHew, M and Woodside, A.G. (2005), “Consumer

Decision-Making Styles And Mall Shopping Behavior:Building Theory Using Exploratory Data

Analysis and the Comparative Method”,

Journal of Business Research,

Vol. 59 (1),pp. 535–548.

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According to Sproles & Kendall (1986) identification of these characteristics amongconsumers

"helps to profile an individual consumer style, educate consumers about theirspecific decision

making characteristics, and counsel families on financial management".Consumer Style

Inventory (CSI) developed by Sproles & Kendall (1986) was used bymany researchers to study

the consumer decision making styles. Some of the research arebriefly described below.Hafstrom

et al. (1992) used the CSI to identify the decision-making styles of Koreanstudents. They

confirmed seven of the eight factors using Sproles & Kendall’s analyticalmethods and

conceptual framework. The only factor that was not confirmed was ‘noveltyfashion

consciousnesses. They attributed this to possible links between ‘brand consciousness’and

‘fashion consciousnesses among young Korean consumers.Hiu et al. (2001) administered the

CSI to 387 adult consumers in China. Their f indingsindicate that five decision-making styles are

valid and reliable in Chinese culture. These styleswere perfectionist, novelty-fashion conscious,

recreational, price conscious, and confused byover choice.Fan and Xiao (1998) used a modified

CSI with Chinese students. They clearly identifiedfive dimensions of consumer decision making

styles: brand consciousness; time consciousness;price consciousness; quality consciousness; and

information utilization.Walsh et al. (2001) confirmed seven factors of consumer decision-making

styles forGerman consumers. These factors were brand consciousness,

perfectionism,recreational/hedonism, confused by overchoice, impulsiveness, novelty-fashion

consciousness,variety seekingDurvasula et al. (1993) administered the CSI on 210 undergraduate

business studentsat a large university in New Zealand. They found eight consumer decision

making styles. Thesestyles are perfectionist, brand conscious, novelty-fashion conscious,

recreational shoppingconscious, price-value conscious, impulsive, confused by over-choice, and

habitual/ brand-loyal.Canabal, M.E. (2002) investigated the decision making styles of South

IndianConsumers utilizing Customer Style Inventory. Using data collected from 173 college

studentsfrom two institutions of higher education in the city of Coimbatore, South India,

Canabal(2002) identified five decision making styles of South Indian. These styles are (1)

BrandConscious Style, (2) High Quality Conscious / Perfectionist Style, (3) Confused by

OverchoiceStyle, (4) Impulsive / Brand Indifferent Style, and (5) Recreational Shopper Style.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGYSample

This study used mall intercept survey method. Data were collected from shopping mallslocated

in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat, India during last week of May, 2007. The targetpopulation for this

study consisted of active mall shoppers.

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Consumer Decision Making Styles in Shopping Malls: An Empirical Study

A structured questionnaire was developed to measure the customer decision making styles inthe

shopping malls. The questionnaire consisted of questions concerning customer decisionmaking

styles and demographic information of respondents. For this study items were adaptedfrom

Consumer Style Inventory (CSI) developed by Sproles and Kendall (1986). CSI itemswere

adopted from various available articles i.e. Mitchell, Vincent-Wayne (2001); Wesley et al.(2006)

and Canabal, M.E. (2002). All of these were five point Likert-type scales in whichrespondents

were asked to indicate their level of agreement (1 =

strongly disagree

to 5 =

strongly agree

). Lastly, the questionnaire also consisted questions to solicit demographicinformation of the

respondents such as gender, age, education, household income and maritalstatus.Questionnaire

was hand carried and personally explained to respondents by the interviewers.Interviewers gave

instructions for completing the questionnaire and waited while respondentindependently filled

out questionnaire.

Demographic Profile of the Sample

A total of 128 respondents participated in the survey. Selected demographic characteristics of the

sample including gender, age, education, marital status and monthly family income, arepresented

in Table 2.

Table 2: Demographic Profile of the Sample

Variables Frequency %

Gender MaleFemale686053.1346.87Age Under 1111-20 Yrs21-30 Yrs31-40 Yrs41-50

YrsAbove 50 Yrs028701596021.8854.6911.727.034.67Education Lower than secondary

schoolSecondary School or equivalentBachelor degreeMaster degreeDoctoral

degreeOthers010105130007.8182.0310.1600Marital

StatusSingleMarried725656.2543.75Monthly Family IncomeLess than Rs.10,000Rs.10,000 to

Rs.20,000Rs.20,000 to Rs.30,000Rs.30,000 to Rs.40,000More than

Rs.40,00003278126025.0060.949.374.69

The sample consisted of 53.13% of male and 46.87% female respondents. Respondentswere

mostly between the ages of 11 and 30 years (76.57%). 56.25% of the respondents were

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New Age Marketing: Emerging Realities

single. Almost 92.19 % of the respondents had at least bachelor degree. Almost 75 % of

therespondents reported that their family income was more than Rs. 20,000.

Consumer Decision Making Styles

Factor analysis was adopted to capture the consumer decision making styles in shopping

malls.Table 3 summaries the results of the factor analysis which was run using the

PrincipalComponent Approach with a varimix rotation.Bartlett’s test of sphericity and Kaiser-

Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure are adopted to determinethe appropriateness of data set for factor

analysis. High value (between 0.5 to 1) of KMOindicates that the factor analysis is appropriate,

low value below the 0.5 implies that factoranalysis may not be appropriate. In this study, the

result of Bartlett’s test of sphericity (0.00)and KMO (0.686) indicate that the data are appropriate

for factor analysis.

Table 3: Result of Factor Analysis

Factor Labels and Items

RotatedFactorLoadingsReliabilityCoefficient(CronbachAlpha)Factor 1: Price Consciousness

It is important to me to get the best price for the products I buy.I find myself checking the price

even for small items.I compare the prices of at least a few brands before I choose one.I would

never shop at more than one store to find low prices.0.8950.8870.812-0.6450.889

Factor 2: Quality Consciousness

In general, I usually try to buy the best overall quality.Getting good quality is very important to

me.

I make a special effort to choose the very best quality products.I always buy the

best.0.8410.7820.7450.6980.874

Factor 3: Recreational

Shopping is a pleasant activity to me.

Shopping in many stores wastes my time.

I make shopping trips fast.0.875-0.612-0.6250.890

Factor 4: Confused by Over Choice

There are so many brands to choose from that I often feel confused.All the information I get on

different products confuses me.The more I learn about products, the harder it seems to choose

thebest.0.8450.7880.7760.832

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Consumer Decision Making Styles in Shopping Malls: An Empirical Study

All the six factors together accounted for 74.249 percent of the total variance.Bartlett’s test of

sphericity = 0.00Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin KMO (0.686)In this study, factor analysis was carried out

in two stages. In stage one, known as thefactor extraction process, objective was to identify how

many factors to be extracted from thedata. Using principal component analysis, seventeen items

were extracted by six factors. Onlythe factors having latent roots or eigenvalue greater than 1

were considered significant; allfactors having eigenvalue less than 1 were considered

insignificant and were discarded. All thesix factors together accounted for 74.249 percent of the

total variance.In the second stage, all the factors were interpreted and labeled. Items having

factorloading more than 0.6 were included in the interpretation. More detailed descriptions of

thefactors are presented in the next section.

Impact of Demographic Factors on Consumer Decision Making Styles

The factors that factor analysis produced were put under further analyses by conducting

ananalysis of variance (ANOVA) to study the variations in the consumer decision making

stylesacross different demographic variables. Dependent variable consisted of six decision

makingstyles identified by factor analysis. Independent variables included five demographic

variables:gender, age, education, marital status and monthly family income. The output of the

ANOVAwas summarized in Table 4 and discussed in the following section.

Table 4: Effect of Various Demographic Variables on Consumer Decision Making Styles:

OneWay ANOVA

Gender Age Education Marital Status IncomeF Sig. F Sig. F Sig. F Sig. F

Sig.PriceConsciousness0.076 0.783 0.990 0.416 0.701 0.624 5.460 0.005* 1.463

0.217QualityConsciousness0.756 0.386 0.297 0.880 1.015 0.412 0.728 0.485 0.875

0.481Recreational0.317 0.575 2.982 0.022* 0.956 0.447 1.547 0.217 0.788 0.535Contd…

633Factor 5: Novelty Conscious

It's fun to buy something new and exciting.To get variety, I shop different stores and choose

differentbrands.0.7120.6490.841

Factor 6: Variety Seeking

If I use the same brands over and over again, I get tired of them.I buy different brands to get

some variety.0.6780.6120.812

New Age Marketing: Emerging Realities

Confused byOver Choice0.047 0.829 1.221 0.306 0.890 0.490 0.838 0.435 1.854

0.123NoveltyConsciousness0.218 0.642 0.768 0.548 1.618 0.160 1.930 0.149 0.795

0.530VarietySeeking0.073 0.787 0.798 0.529 0.624 0.682 0.714 0.492 1.782 0.137

*p<0.05

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

As discussed above, six consumer decision making styles have been extracted with the help of

factor analysis and ANOVA was used to study the variations in the consumers’ decisionmaking

styles across demographic variables. The six factors are summarized here.

Factor 1: Price Consciousness

This factor measures the price dimension of consumer decision making styles of

Indianconsumers in our sample. Consumers who score high on this factor are very price

conscious.They are very conscious to get the best price for the products they buy. They check

andcompare the prices of products before purchasing them. They even go to more than one store

toget the lowest price. The highest loading (0.895) item in this factor is “It is important to me

toget the best price for the products I buy.”Table 4 revealed that the significance values of F for

gender, age, education, and family incomeare greater than 0.05. So they do not have significant

impact on price consciousness. Onlymarital status has impact on price consciousness. In our

sample, single customers (mean =3.62) are more price conscious than married customers (mean

= 3.26).

Factor 2: Quality Consciousness

This factor reflects the quality conscious dimension of consumer decision making style of Indian

consumers in our sample. Indian consumers consider the quality of the products whilepurchasing

the products in shopping malls. It is very important for them to by best. Consumerswho score

high on this factor perceive the quality of a product to be very important and arewilling to make

special efforts to choose products with the very best quality. The highestloading item in this

factor is “In general, I usually try to buy the best overall quality.”Table 4 revealed that the

significance values of F for gender, age, education, marital status andfamily income are greater

than 0.05. So they do not have significant impact on qualityconsciousness.

Factor 3: Recreational

The decision making style identified by this factor is that Indian consumers do purchase

inshopping malls for enjoyment. We can call such type of consumers as recreational

shoppingconscious consumers (Hafstrom at al. 1992). “Shopping is a funny activity for them.

The

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Consumer Decision Making Styles in Shopping Malls: An Empirical Study

highest loading (i.e., 0.875) item in this factor is, “Shopping is a pleasant activity to me.”

Othertwo items “shopping in many stores wastes my time” and “I make shopping trips fast”

hasnegative loading. So it can be concluded that enjoyment during shopping has impact

onconsumer purchase in shipping malls.Table 4 revealed that the significance values of F for

gender, education, marital status andfamily income are greater than 0.05. So they do not have

significant impact on recreationalshopping. Only age has impact on recreational shopping.

Respondents between the age groupof 11-20 years (mean = 3.51) are most recreational in their

shopping followed by the age groupof 31-40 years (mean = 3.29).

Factor 4: Confused by Over Choice

Consumers having high score on this factor perceive the product related information availableto

be confusing. The items include in this factors are “there are so many brands to choose fromthat I

often feel confused, “all the information I get on different products confuses me, and “themore I

learn about products, the harder it seems to choose the best.” Consumers who score highon this

factor are overwhelmed by all the choices of products and stores available to them anddo not

know what to do about the information. On the opposite end of the continuum,consumers who

score low on this factor can take advantage of the available information andmake better choices

(Fan, J.X., 1998).Table 4 revealed that the significance values of F for gender, age, education,

marital status andfamily income are greater than 0.05. So they do not have significant impact on

factor 4.

Factor 5: Novelty Consciousness

The decision making style identified by this factor is that Indian consumers always driven

bynovelty product. The highest loading (i.e., 0.712) item in this factor is, “it is fun to

buysomething new and exciting.”Table 4 revealed that the significance values of F for gender,

age, education, marital status andfamily income are greater than 0.05. So they do not have

significant impact on noveltyconsciousness.

Factor 6: Variety Seeking

Consumers having high scorers on this factor are likely to switch brands, even if their

currentbrands satisfy their needs. They may also switch brands to experience better alternatives

or toincrease stimulation by bringing something new into their lives. Items in this factor are “if I

usethe same brands over and over again, I get tired of them,” and “I buy different brands to

getsome variety.”Table 4 revealed that the significance values of F for gender, age, education,

marital status andfamily income are greater than 0.05. So they do not have significant impact on

variety seekingshopping behavior.

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New Age Marketing: Emerging Realities

CONCLUSION

The objectives of this study were to investigate the consumer decision making styles inshopping

malls and to study variations in the consumer decision making styles across

differentdemographic variables.Following the study of Sproles and Kendall (1986), an attempt

was made to profile thedecision making styles of Indian Consumers in shopping malls. Sproles

and Kendall (1986)identified nine decision making styles while in this study researcher found

only six decision-making styles in Indian environment. These decision making styles are price

consciousness,quality consciousness, recreational, confused by over choice, novelty

consciousness, andvariety seeking. This study does not confirm four dimensions proposed, i.e.,

fashionconsciousness, brand consciousness, impulsiveness, and brand loyalty. These dimensions

of decision making styles were reported in the study of Sproles and Kendall (1986).In addition,

this study shows that the average Indian shoppers in our sample was notvery brand conscious,

but quite price and quality conscious. It is found that single consumersare more price conscious

than married consumers. Indian consumers are recreational in theirshopping. Shopping is funny

activity for them. Young consumers between the age group of 11-20 years are most recreational

in their shopping. Above all Indian consumers are confused byover choice, novelty conscious,

and variety seekers.

Managerial Implications

Information on consumers' decision-making style will be useful for retailers targeting

Indianmarkets. As Indian retail Industries is in boom today and more and more national

andinternational players are interested in the emerging retail market in India, an understanding of

Indian mall shopper behavior, with particular reference to their decision-making styles, iscrucial.

Profiling consumers by combining their decision-making styles and demographicvariables

provide more meaningful ways to identify and understand various consumer segmentsand to

target each segment with more focused marketing strategies (Hiu, A.Y. et al., 2001).

Limitations and Further Research

There are several limitations that warrant future research. The study has been conducted

inAhmedabad city of Gujarat, India. The results of the same, if conducted in other part of

thecounty may vary. It is because a country like India has geographically, economically,

sociallyand culturally very different areas. This difference is too significant to be ignored. The

sampleconsisted of 148 active mall shoppers. The small sample size is also error-prone.

Further research may address the following important questions:1.

Do the various formats of the shopping malls affect the consumers’ decision makingstyles in

particular malls?2.

How do cultural factors influence the consumers’ decision making styles in shoppingmalls?

636

Consumer Decision Making Styles in Shopping Malls: An Empirical Study

3.

Do the people from different geographical areas of Indian differ in their decisionmaking styles in

shopping malls?4.

Do the people from urban area and rural area differ in their decision making styles inshopping

malls?

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